English Divorce Law Gives Government a Headache

Friday 20th November 1936

Behind the Scenes

Decorum dictated that neither in Parliament nor the press was discussion or reports of the Marriage bill sullied by mention of the fact that the case of Simpson v. Simpson was still hovering in the vulnerable six month limbo between decree nisi and decree absolute, when it would be vulnerable to any accusation of collusion between the couple or adultery by the plaintiff. This fact had fully been registered in the inmost sanctums of government, where it added another layer of complexity to a daunting task. On the one hand action by the King's Proctor to prove adultery between Mrs. Simpson and her presumed lover, the King, would cause immense scandal, but on the other keeping her trapped in marriage to Ernest would prevent the King from marrying her.